


A Victorian Christmas

by ETNMystic



Series: Our Eternity Together [8]
Category: Escape the Night (Web Series)
Genre: Christmas, Creepy, Gen, Too much fluff, cutesiness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-01-20 18:10:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 17,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18530398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ETNMystic/pseuds/ETNMystic
Summary: Mystic, still under the spell of the Cursed God, tries to prove to the rest that he's not as bad as they think. How, you may ask? Through Christmas, of course!





	1. Strawberry's Secrets

Mystic was lost in a flurry of wonder. And snow.

There were so many toy stores and sweet shoppes and book shoppes everywhere, anything she could possibly want, she knew she'd be able to get. How? It was her fantasy world, of course. But there were so many places, and people. She didn't know where to begin. 

All of a sudden, she caught sight of an adorable little sweet shoppe and ran into it with the others in tow. 

"Aww," Nora gushed as the doorbell ringed lyrically, signaling their arrival.  
"How quaint."

Mystic skipped over to a set of free samples and took one for each before running back to the group. All of them were pure white.

"Here," she held them out.  
"Try one."

"What are they?" Safiya wondered.

"They're called Perception Sweets. They taste like how the person who gave them to you views you. There's even a lovely little taste guide. Go on. In they pop!"

Not wanting to disappoint, they each took one. Rosanna was the first to pop it in her mouth. She gave a surprised and delighted "Mmmm!"

"What does it taste like?" Mystic wondered eagerly.

"It tastes like apple, but then there's something else."

Mystic pondered this.

"I think that's apples and roses."

She skipped back over to the table and pulled out a thick book. Flipping the pages, she finally found what she was looking for.

"Ah! Apple and roses. 'Receiving this flavor means that the person who gave it to you thinks you're very sweet and pretty.'"

Giggling, Rosanna blushed as Safiya popped hers in.

"Licorice," she remarked.

Flipping through the book....

"'Licorice is a sign that this person believes you're very mysterious.'"

"I mean, that's fair," Alice shrugged as she popped hers in.  
"I got pineapple."

Flipping through some more.....

"'Pineapple is an indication that the person believes that you worry too much and too often.'"

Candy Pop snorted as he popped his in before making both a "this is hot" face and a "this is sour" face.

"A spicy, sour lemon," he gagged.

Mystic flipped through some more.

"'Sometimes more than one flavor will appear, a common one is Spicy and Sour Lemon. See pages 690 and 675 for details.' Where are they? Aha! 'Sour Lemon shows that this person believes you are too cynical.' And Spicy? Ah. Here we are. 'Indicates a belief in a short temper."

Now it was Alice's turn to snort. Nora was next to pop hers in.

"I got a salty one."

"'Saltwater,'" Mystic read.  
"'Indications of displaying signs that one is overstressed and needs to relax.' Fear not. This Christmas should do the trick!"

Envy popped his in next.

"Oh my," he exclaimed in surprise.  
"It's a Sour Lemon Licorice."

Penelope popped hers in.

"I got grape."

"'Grape shows that one is believed to display elegance.'"

She beamed as Mystic skipped off to check out the rest of the shoppe, but her beaming was extinguished when she tasted a hint of another flavor; strawberry.

"What does strawberry mean?" she wondered.

Picking up the book that Mystic had dropped, she flipped to the S section and gasped before reading it aloud.

"'If you are one who likes to keep a low profile, beware this flavor. Strawberry shows that this person believes that you are hiding many secrets.'"

She whirled around and gathered the group in a huddle.

"I thought the Cursed God made her completely innocent. How would she be able to catch onto something like that?"

"Well, ARE you hiding secrets?" Candy Pop retorted.

"As if I'm going to tell you!" she spat.

"Everyone, I don't think we should hang around here for too long," Nora advised.  
"Mystic will likely be wondering where we are soon."

And with that they followed her deeper into the shoppe.


	2. Two Doll Princesses and A Young Duchess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Entering into a dollmaker's shoppe, things seem to feel a little groggy for our heroes.

They spent a fair amount of time in there, with Mystic skipping and twirling all the while, with various confectionary aromas wafting through the shoppe. All the while, the beginning of  _The Nutcracker Suite_ was playing wherever they went.

"Does anyone else hear that?" Envy remarked.

"Hear what?" Safiya wondered.

"That music?"

"Of course I do," Mystic sniffed.  
"It's always playing."

All of a sudden, her attention was turned towards something else.

"Oh, how darling!" Mystic gasped clasping her hands together, holding them to her cheeks. 

Her eyes had fallen upon a pretty little doll. Her beautiful blonde hair was curled to perfection. Her dress was a silky white with a blue bow at the waist. She had a very rosy complexion, and her glasses were identical to Mystic's. In fact, her entire being was identical to Mystic's, the only differences being the dress and the small little crown on her head.

"She's beautiful," Mystic gushed, picking her up.  
"I'll call her Lady Rosalia Marie."

Alice had to hold herself back from strangling the adorable little thing to death. 

"I don't think a doll would belong in a sweet shoppe," Penelope pointed out as Mystic hugged Lady Rosalia Marie close and twirled.

"Goodie Goodie Jolly-Golly Goshings Gumdrops, you're absolutely right!" Mystic gasped with Candy Pop retching to himself.  
"How could I have been so naive about that?"

 _Yes, because THAT'S what you think you're naive about,_ Alice thought. 

"We must take it back to the shoppe at once!"

Mystic ran off, twirling. All the time, Alice felt a bit of a fog. As though her mind was being cleansed.

_What's......going on?_

She couldn't remember where she'd been born. Where was it?

_Oh yes! Lollyland, Christmasville! Wait._

Part of her mind told her that didn't sound right as the group followed the little lady to a doll shoppe where their eyes fell on a familiar face.

"How do you do, little darling?" the dollmaker cooed as the bell rang.

Envy stopped dead in his tracks.

"I'm not going any further in," he gulped.

"Oh, don't be such a silly sapling," Mystic scolded playfully.  
"Sir Calvin Montgomery is ever the friendliest dollmaker there ever was!"

Envy then too felt his mind begin to fog up.

_Wait.....why was I so hesitant?_

He tried to remember why.

_I know now! I've felt so fond of him for so long. Wait....no, that can't be, but.......what else could it be?_

"We found her at the sweet shoppe," Mystic informed Calvin, holding out the doll.  
"Is she one of yours?"

"Indeed," he smiled.  
"I modeled her after Christmasville's very own darling little princess."

As he said that last phrase, he gently bopped Mystic on the nose and handed her the doll.

"You're a princess?" Alice spattered momentarily.

 _Of course she is!_ her thoughts told her.  
_She always has been. Wait...what? No.....  
Of course. But then.....how do I know her?_

"Ah, Lady Lolly!" Calvin greeted warmly, making eye contact with Alice.

She was confused for a moment, but then it came back to her.

_You've forgotten so soon, silly girl? You're Lady Ermengarde Lolly, the daughter of the Duke of Lollyville, cousin of Princess Lottie._

Of course she was. As her mind began to shift, so did her outfit; she now donned a poofy dress with a large bustle, decorated head to toe with lollipops. But something inside of her also told her this wasn't who she was. 

_But who else could I be?_

"How much is she?" Mystic pondered.

"Not a pence," Calvin informed her.  
"In fact, I have one for each of you."

He pulled out a doll in a poofy lollipop dress, candy colored ballet shoes, a hat decorated with lollipops, with her hair in two tight auburn curls. Her face was cherubic and she had a rosy complexion as well as a rather stout stature. But as Lady Lolly took her doll, she didn't even notice herself changing. 

"Oh, it's lovely, Sir!" she gasped in a charming voice, though not as charming as Mystic's, as Calvin handed her to Ermengarde.  
"Thank you ever so very much!"

Next he pulled out a doll of an adorable little girl. Her dress was candy-pink with matching ballet shoes. Her hair was curled in brunette locks with a crown atop it, and she had almost the same amount of adorable charm as Mystic. Ro felt the doll calling out to her. 

_Wait. What?_

Her inner voice giggled.

_Have you really forgotten? You're Princess Alycia, elder sister to Princess Lottie. You two are the very sweetest in the kingdom of Christmasville._

Alycia felt herself accepting it, and the doll, with open arms. As she politely approached Calvin, Safiya, Penelope, Nora, Candy Pop, and Envy stepped outside.

"Does anyone else feel groggy?" Envy wondered.

The other four nodded.

"I feel like I can't remember anything before we came here," Safiya whispered. 

"Do you think there's something changing us?" Nora gasped.

"Oh, most certainly," Penelope replied gravely.  
"We need to get Mystic to tell us how to get out before we succumb to this lotus eater machine, or whatever that trope is called."

The bell rang and emerged the newly-dressed princesses and young duchess with their dolls close in hand. All of a sudden, they heard a harp ring out nine times and Ermengarde gasped.

"Oh my Goodie Golly Gumdrops! We must hurry back to the castle or we'll miss the Christmas party."

"But what about the other dolls?" Mystic, now Lottie, sighed despondently.

"I'm afraid they'll have to wait," Penelope replied quickly.  
"We must make haste to the castle at once!"

As they ran, Safiya leaned into Penelope again.

"Why are we going to the castle?"

"Because if we're going to find an answer," she informed her.  
"It'd likely be in there."


	3. Sweet Cheeks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (CW: Vomiting mention)
> 
> Things get super cutesy-wutesy and cuddly.

With the other girls skipping merrily along, giggling and singing a cutesy little carol, Penelope and the others were a few feet behind trying to stay sane and keep their memories. 

"Oh gosh," Candy Pop groaned.  
"If I have to see anymore of this sweet cutesy-wutesy pwecious British schmaltziness, I think I might actually be sick."

"Then you probably should've brought something to put your sick into," Penelope retorted.  
"I have a feeling it's not over yet. Look, up ahead."

Sure enough, there was the castle. Lottie skipped up and tapped gently on the door. To the other five's surprise, the castle opened its walls like a dollhouse. But the trio up ahead entered the door as if nothing had happened.

"Mother," Lottie called out in the sweetest voice unimaginable.  
"We're home!"

From the doors above and down the stairs emerged a woman with red hair and red eyes in a queen's gown. 

"Lottie! Alycia! Ermengarde!" she gushed as she showered them with kisses.  
"All three of you precious little gumdrops are back safe and sound."

"Oh man, can this get anymore cutesy and Hallmarkey?" Candy Pop groaned.

"Where's Pa'Pa?" Lottie asked, tilting her head.

"Here I am!" a gently booming voice called out as a man dressed in king's garb came waltzing down the stairs.  
"Ah! All of my pretty little maiden girls have returned."

That was enough to make all five of them cringe as he approached each of the girls. 

"Alycia, my sweet, pwecious, gummy caramel pineapple wainbow pastry pony princess pie treat!" he hugged dousing her in kisses.  
"Ermengarde, my tiny, marshmallow puppy lolly lady boo-boo schnuggly bear face," he nuzzled Ermengarde.  
"And Lottie, my darling, lovely, little, innocent, cocoa sugar swan unicorn kitten bunny vanilla cupcake doll princess with sprinkles and all the history of the world's cuteness!"

As he showered her with kisses and Lottie giggled, Candy Pop ran to the nearest bin and let it all out. Meanwhile the others began to feel a bit sick.

"I think I'm developing hypertension just by listening to all of this," Nora groaned. 

"Yeah, no kidding," Envy agreed in kind. 

Penelope, meanwhile, was glaring down the queen and growling under her breath as she fumed. 

"Oh, and of course, my lovely wife," the king chuckled.  
"My sweet gummy kitten, how I wove you ever so much."

"Oh, but I wove you more, my studdy-wuddy muffin puppy pony pudding pie of wove!" she cooed back, ignoring Candy Pop's continuous retching.

"No, I wove YOU more, my schnuggly-wuggly boo-boo schnuggle muffin bear poo," he chuckled.

"No, I wove YOU more, my yummy-nummy cotton candy Poopsie-Whoopsie butterfly boogly-boo bear face pie," she cooed back pinching his cheeks.

"No, I wove YOU more, my pwecious Poopsiekins Fwosting Pumpkin of Wove," he gushed as the two nuzzled noses and making kissy noises. 

"No, I wove YOU more, my Schnicky Boom Boom Schnuggle Wuggle Kitten Poopsie Bear."

"No, I wove YOU more, my Pwecious Wove Sausage Cookie Pop Kitten Darling Pieface!"

"No, I wove YOU more, my Sweet Wittle Dowwy Sugar Booger Donut Pork Chop Sweetsie Cheeks Kissyface Bubbles Boo-Boo Cuddle Face!"

"No, I wove YOU more, my---!"

"OH MY GOD! SOMEONE KILL ME PLEASE!" Candy Pop yelled agonizingly into the bin.

"Mother, father!" Lottie squealed.  
"What about decorating the tree?"

"Of course, my little sugar cube," Father replied just as saccharinely as before if not more.  
"And your friends should join us! In fact, they absolutely ever so must help. Because this year, we're decorating---"

He pulled out several dozen sticks.

"With magic."

Hearing this, the three girls gasped and started jumping up and down clapping as maids and butlers came in with boxes upon boxes of ornaments. One of the butlers took the wands and handed one to each and every person, even Candy Pop who was still retching into the bin.

"And would you like to know what's even better?" the father gasped.

"What? What is it?" the trio gasped in reply.

He took a dramatic pause.

"It's powered by faith, AND EVERYONE singing!"

"Yay!" happily chorused the trio as they clapped and twirled while back at the bin Candy Pop's eyes began to twitch as he quietly screamed into the messy abyss.


	4. Preparing the Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once you get to the part about the song, click this link if you want to know how fast this goes, and I'll probably add in times for the songs.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U_gpW1J4LM&t=777s

Soon the castle was filled with overly-cheerful singing and giggling, and it was enough to make Candy Pop want to die. He could've sworn his ears were bleeding. It was if the Smurfs were given an overdose of ecstasy and laughing gas.

"Why isn't it working?" Lottie whined.

"What's not working, Shmoopie Bear Pie Princess?" the father cooed. 

"My wand."

The father gave this some thought.

"I think there's someone missing."

All of a sudden C.P. heard footsteps in his direction and then he felt hands on his ankles.

"Oh God," he eeped as he felt himself being pulled from the bin.  
"Let go of me. I WILL NOT partake in this schmaltzy cutesy-wootsey British poopstorm."

"But everyone MUST," the father insisted as a maid pulled Candy Pop towards him.  
"Or you'll disappoint my darling wittle pwincess."

Lottie gave him a puppy face.

"Or would you prefer we......persuade you?" the queen wondered.

There was a slightly threatening edge in her tone that gave Candy Pop a chill.

"Um, no. I could just.....leave."

"But why would you want to?" Ermengarde wondered.  
"Everything's oh so lovely here!"

She twirled around for the thousandth time that night. 

"And besides," the king added.  
"You  **can't** leave."

_Again with that passively-threatening tone._

"Your highness," a slightly-lyrical voice exclaimed. 

In came a maid carrying several mugs of steaming hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream, marshmallows, chocolate shavings, chocolate sauce, chocolate chips, and marshmallow fluff.

"If I may say so, I do believe a break is necessary," she smiled.  
"Those darling little angels and their friends should have some hot chocolate. It's always best when it's hot.

"Marvelous merry marzipan, of course it is!" the king replied, and Candy Pop wretched again at the exclamation. 

_Who the hell even eats marzipan?_

"Come on everyone!" he ordered jovially, clasping his hands together.  
"Let's have something to drink!"

There were sweet and innocent cheers, more jumping, clapping, and twirling. More retching from Candy Pop. It felt like this was a really bad fanfiction installment and the writer was now putting him through all of this cuteness and sappiness just to torture him (it has a point, trust me). 

"Besides," Candy Pop babbled to the king.  
"I can't sing."

"Of course you can!" he argued chuckling.  
"Everyone can sing. And in this castle, everyone here can sing well!"

All of a sudden, the Overture to  _The Nutcracker_ came on and the five of them began to dance and sing to the tune. 

* * *

[0:00-0:35]

_**King:** When we're all in this castle, all we feel is pure joy._

**_Queen:_ ** _Under this tree is a present for every girl and boy._

 **_King:_ ** _But only if you're good and jolly and so sweet._

 **_Queen:_ ** _And if you're not, no fear. Soon you'll be smiling in defeat._

 **_Lottie:_ ** _On this holiday of toys_

 **_Ermengarde:_ ** _and the most beautiful of noise,_

 **_Alycia:_ ** _there are just so many treats_

 **_Trio:_ ** _that we know you'll want to eat._

 **_Alycia:_ ** _And then once you are all done_

 **_Ermengarde:_ ** _we'll have ever so much fun_

 **_Lottie:_ ** _as we decorate the tree_

 **_Trio:_ ** _while we sing so merrily._

 **_Lottie:_ ** _And then when all the fun is done_

 **_Ermengarde:_ ** _Up to our bedroom we will run._

 **_Alycia:_ ** _And we'll get all tucked in beds._

 **_Ermengarde:_ ** _As sugar plums dance in our heads._

 **_Lottie:_ ** _As we wait to hear the clopping of their hooves upon the roof,_

 **_Trio:_ ** _Cause we know that Father Christmas comes to give us quite the loot--_

* * *

"Okay, okay! I get it!" Candy Pop screamed as the music came to a screeching halt.  
"Y'all really love Christmas, can I PLEASE go now?"

"No," the king said matter-of-factly.  
"You have to stay and help, one way or the other. So, are you going to do it of your own free will or do we have to........convince you?"

_WHAT WAS IT WITH THIS KING AND QUEEN HAVING SOME DAMN THREATENING UNDERTONES?_

"Okay, fine," he huffed.

"Splendid," the king smiled.  
"But first, hot chocolate!"

[This part begins at 1:43]

More maids and butlers entered with more trays of hot chocolate. The five Stepford royals each took a mug. Right away Lottie got a marshmallow mustache and began to march around imitating a silly army general while Ermengarde and Alycia laughed along with her. Meanwhile the king and queen were getting sentimental in the corner, as in they were scooping up the marshmallows, whipped cream, marshmallow fluff, and other high blood pressure-causing foods into their fingers and feeding it to one another, sometimes booming their noses instead. Candy Pop felt sick again, he ran over to the only sane people left.

"Guys, we need to get out of here," he gasped.  
"I need to see a dead body, some blood, even just a paper cut, ANYTHING to get away from this schmaltzy wholesome Rockwellian family!"

"Not until I destroy that queen," Penelope growled, eying said queen.

"Why?"

She gave him an incredulous look.

"That's Lilith!"

"It is?" he asked in disbelief.

"To a T! That can only mean the Cursed God isn't far behind."

"Oh, Lottie dear," the queen called out.  
"If you would be so kind as to find your purest gown to wear. The prince is going to be arriving tonight."

"A prince?"

Lottie's eyes lit up like sparklers.

"Indeed."

"Oh, but the tree!" Lottie cried.

"Worry not, my precious marshmallow pumpkin," the king assured her.  
"I can simply use my master wand to decorate it."

 _THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU DO THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE?_ Candy Pop screamed in his head.

"Oh, and your Godbrother Patrimeyer is coming with some of his gifts."

"Godbrother Patrimeyer!" the girls squealed. 

All of a sudden, they heard a knock on the door. Lottie glided to the window.

"It's the guests, pa'pa!"

[music switches to 7:41]

The king stood up and pulled out his wand. Instantly, the room was transformed into the party of the millennium, and Lottie was now wearing an even more innocent-looking gown as well as looking even more innocent, if that was even possible.

"Let them in, please."

A maid rushed over and opened the door. In walked or glided people of various ages. Some of them looked too familiar.

"Ines?" Candy Pop whispered.  
"Stella? Super Spy? Dooper?"

But then he heard a herald horn.

"Presenting his royal majesty," a butler announced. 

Everyone bowed as a boy around Lottie's age glided into the doorway. But Candy Pop felt anger seize him because he knew EXACTLY who this "boy" was.

The Cursed God.

 


	5. Deals With the Devil in Disguise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (CW: Straitjacket and padded room mention)
> 
> Candy Pop makes an offensive/defensive attack and learns that his loyalty is shakier than he cares to admit.

The second he stepped inside, the room was silent. Lottie shyly made brief eye contact with the prince before running off to hide behind her sisters. But he noticed her, and gently approached her, looking behind Alycia. And all of a sudden, it was as if there was a spotlight on them. 

[music starts at 13:36]

"Please don't be afraid," he assured her softly, his voice sounding rather boyish, but still handsome.  
"I'm not going to hurt you."

She blushed ever so, having an almost angelic, but delicate appearance. How much more cute and innocent was she going to get?Her cheeks were blazing red. CP was a nauseating green, but he was seeing red. As soon as he heard those trumpets in the  _Nutcracker_ music, he was gonna attack.

"Would you care for a dance, my little flower petal?" he politely offered, holding out his hand.

There were the trumpets in the music. CP charged at the prince and lunged forward.

"Not today, Satan!" he called out as he tackled him to the ground.

[music stops]

Of course, the rest of the party was appalled, simply appalled, by his lack of conduct. Penelope had her face in her hand. Safiya had her lips pursed in both fear and embarrassment. Envy was just straight-up stunned. Nora was wide-eyed and trembling. 

"What on earth are you doing to the prince, you ragamuffin?" Ines screamed.

"Prince?" Candy Pop spattered.  
"Prince of Hell, maybe!"

Or he would've said that if Alycia hadn't cut him off, gasping and covering her mouth as she stopped him on "Prince of He---!".

"He said a naughty word! He said a naughty word!"

She and Ermengarde went over and covered Lottie's ears and Candy Pop just scoffed. 

"Oh come on! Are you serious? You can't keep sheltering her from everything, especially if your 'parents' are marrying her off to literal Satan!"

"You should be ashamed of yourself!" Stella sniffed.

"Nein!" a familiar voice called out in a German dialect.  
"Dere vill nicht be any shame vhile I'm here!"

Out of nowhere an eccentric man, dragging probably thousands of large boxes behind him, stepped into the doorway. He looked like the Tenth Doctor but with an eyepatch on his right eye. 

"Guten nacht, eferyvon!" he greeted jovially.

[music begins at 9:02(10) (it's just 9:02, i just added those last numbers in as a reference to something)]

Hearing the voice, the three girls jumped up and down, clapping their hands in delight. 

"Godbrother Patrimeyer!" they squealed as they ran to him.

Chuckling warmly he hugged all three of them.

"Ah, my sveet little dolls, it is so lofely to zee all off you!"

"Where did you go this year?" Lottie gasped.

"Did you meet any strange people?" Ermengarde wondered.

"What kinds of treats did you eat?" Alycia begged to know.

"All in goot time, my little Kristallpuppen," he smiled, booping each one on the nose.

During this time, Candy Pop let go of his grasp on the prince and he saw familiarity in this "Godbrother."

_Matpat? What did they do to you?_

All of a sudden, he felt himself being pushed to the ground. Looking over, now the Prince was on top of HIM. Using this to his advantage, he grabbed him by the collar and pulled him in while everyone else was distracted by Godbrother Patrimeyer.

"Don't think I don't know who you are," he whispered harshly to the prince.  
"If you think you're keeping Mystic under this spell, you've got another thing coming!"

[if you want, put the ETN version of  _Sympathy for the Devil_ on during this next scene]

Hearing this, the prince smirked as he pulled away and folded his arms.

"You ARE smarter than you look, demon boy," he scoffed softly.  
"But don't think you're gonna take my flower away so easily this time."

"You know, you're not making yourself seem any nicer," CP pointed out quietly.  
"Isn't that what you wanted?"

"I retract that statement. You're as stupid as ever," the Cursed God sniffed.  
"I don't care if YOU think I'm nice. It's the others who need to believe I'm merciful and kind."

"So then what's the point of all of this?"

"What do you think, idiot? This isn't just to pull my sweet Mystic further under my innocence spell. It's to pull your friends along with her into my grasp. Alice, Rosanna, Safiya, Nora, Envy, even Penelope."

"I'll just tell them then."

"Tell them?" he laughed.  
"TELL THEM?"

He leaned in closer.

"Tell ME this; who's gonna believe you? In this world, NO ONE. They all see me as a sweet and innocent prince wanting to marry an actually sweet and innocent princess. Try to screw that up, try to convince THEM that I'M a demonic entity, and guess what? You're just earning yourself a one-way ticket to a straitjacket and padded room. You're absolutely powerless in this world. So your only rational option is to give up."

"Over my goddamn dead body," he growled.

"I'd happily have that arranged."

They stared into each others' eyes aggressively for a second before the Cursed God smirked.

"You know, if you give up now, I'd give you a nice comfy job as a demon in my army."

"Why the fuck would I accept that ticket to Hell?

"Let's face it, Pops. You and I? We're more alike than you'd care to admit. You're just as screwed up as me. We're both demonic entities that can destroy one another. Oh wait. I forgot. You're in a human body. But that can easily be remedied, if you accept my deal."

"What deal?"

Chuckling, the Cursed God pulled out a dark teastone.

"Agree to completely surrender to me, and I'll get you out of this god-forsaken shell of a human being for good."

That got his attention. For too long, he'd wanted so badly to get out of this body. But he couldn't betray Mystic and the others. But if he was out of Alice's body.......oh God. All that power he'd have back. 

Needless to say, he felt conflicted. 

[music goes back to  _Nutcracker_ 9:02]

"Oh, do come here everyone!" Alycia gasped.  
"Godbrother Patrimeyer's got new presents for us!"

The Cursed God turned back to Candy Pop.

"I'll let you think it over. But by midnight, if you haven't pledged your total allegiance to me, I'll make sure you forget everything you ever were and make you into something......let's say, on par with this fantasy realm."

Chuckling the Cursed God walked away from a CP whose stomach felt as though it was turning like a washing tumbler on spin cycle. 

_Out of this body.....permanently?_

It should've been an easy decision. He should've just said no, but then again.......

_Maybe he'd be my best bet to getting back my power._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why yes, I am doing a character with a German dialect because we're learning the German dialect in my dialects class. 
> 
> If this goes over into Dialects 2, we're gonna have another American Southern character.


	6. Sugar Brains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (CW: Mentions of internal organs, sugar)
> 
> Chapter is subject to change.

Candy Pop tried to keep to himself the rest of the night, but he couldn't get the Cursed God's deal out of his head. Would he really get him out of this body?

_But why should I trust him?_

But then he'd see another bit of sappiness, reminding him that that's what he'll become if he doesn't agree, and he'd shiver at the mere thought. 

Meanwhile Lottie was having just the time of her life. She'd found herself being chased around by this prince as if they were little schoolchildren. She'd look at him cutely and shyly and he'd tried to envelope her in a hug only for her to skip just out of reach, her curls flouncing as she did this. Eventually it turned into what was called "Hug Tag," where all of the children played; everyone was "It" and "Not It" and everyone was a winner.

It made Candy Pop sick to his stomach. He decided to hang back with Safiya and the others. 

"This saccharine wholesomeness is starting to get on my nerves," Safiya groaned. 

"Same here," Nora gagged.  
"It's like a Silly Symphonies cartoon threw up on this place."

"Sounds about right," Envy agreed in kind.

"You guys know who that prince is, right?" Candy Pop questioned.

"The Cursed God?" they all answered simultaneously.

This took him by surprise. 

"I thought you wouldn't---"

He was cut off by Lottie flouncing and skipping around and singing  _On The Good Ship Lollipop_ and all the adults fawning over her.

"Oh, she's so precious!" one gushed, pinching her cheeks, causing her to blush. 

"Simply adorable!" another cooed.

"She certainly is Christmasville's Little Darling," the king replied.

"Nicholas, you and your wife raised her to be so well-behaved and ever so sweet," another adult remarked.  
"Why, how on earth did you do it?"

The king and queen approached the crowd.

"Well, it's quite simple," the king replied as he picked up and placed Lottie on his shoulders.  
"All your children need is a lot of love."

As on cue, Lottie closed her eyes, smiled lovingly, placed her hands up by her cheek, clasped together, and tilted her head. This prompted a whole chorus of "awww"s. Even Candy Pop started to feel the mushy cutesy warmth invading him. 

"Oh, I just want to take her home and put her on my shelf. She's just like a sweet little porcelain doll."

"I think I'm gonna go into a sugar coma," Candy Pop groaned.  
"Anyway, we need to expose this Cursed God, or else he's gonna turn me into something of this universe, and I don't wanna be saccharine-sweet."

"I agree," Penelope shuddered.

"Oh, do come here everyone!" Ermengarde cheered.  
"Come, and watch us play. Watch us play ever so merrily."

"It's Silly Symphonies plus Dick and Jane," Nora shivered.

"You're telling me," Envy retched. 

All of a sudden, CP saw hands reach from behind his friends and cover their mouths with cloths. Before he could get away, he felt one on his mouth as well. He struggled against it but to no avail, passing out from the chloroform.

* * *

When he came to, he was not where he expected to be. Instead of a dark and dank dungeon, he was in a bright and colorful room decorated with candy. There was a woman wearing large, sparkly lavender wings and from seemingly out of nowhere, a demonic version of  _Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy_ was playing. 

"What the hell?" he tried to say, but he felt something inside of his mouth. It was a large tube. He tried to spit it out or move away or something, but found it was useless. 

He heard a high-pitched giggle as the other five began to come to.

"Oh good," a high-pitched voice replied.  
"You're awake. I was hoping you would be. We certainly wouldn't want you choking on the substance."

"Who the hell are you?" he tried to ask.

"I'm the Sugar Plum Fairy, of course. And soon you're all going to be citizens of the Candy Kingdom. I already have each substance set up for each of you."

The fairy pulled out a set of stamps, each one with a different symbol on it, and an ink pad. 

"For Envy," she began.  
"The newest mechanical Harlequin doll."

She stamped the back of his hand.

"A Calvin special."

Envy felt shivers run through him as tears fell down his face. 

"For Penelope, the rat queen."

Even with the pipe in her mouth, Penelope's shriek of anger and fright upon hearing this was as clear as day.

"For Nora, a cute little Polinchinelle."

"For Safiya, an Arabian tea dancer."

"And for you Candy Pop, you're going to be the sweetest of them all. You're going to be a giant jellybaby."

"That's not even a  _Nutcracker_ character," he shrieked with the pipe stuck in his mouth.

"Oh, the master knows that well," she smirked as she stamped him.  
"Children are going to love you after this. Chubby, sweet, and simple-minded. Now don't any of you try to resist. This sugary formula is powerful and addictive. Once inside, it'll switch around your systems. Your digestive system will become circled throughout your brain. Basically, you'll be recycling your new sugar brains."

_Damn, the Sugar Plum Fairy isn't someone to be fucked with._

Chuckling evilly she strutted over to a lever and flipped it on. The substance began to slowly ooze down the five separate pipes before she swaggered over to the door.

"Merry Christmas," she cackled as she left.  
"It'll be one to remember. If your brains can remember it."


	7. A Questionable Distraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not support racism, just in case this does come across as racist at all and I'm sorry if it does, but this was what I could come up with. I wasn't quite sure how else to work in hypnosis.
> 
> Penelope's disguise is based off of the Madame Lulu disguise from "The Carnivorous Carnival," including the accent.

As the sugar began to ooze down into their pipes, Candy Pop began to tremble. He really didn't want to become this giant dumb jellybaby creature, in fact he would have rather became what the Cursed God had in mind for him (unless of course, this WAS what he had in mind for him). And Penelope seemed to have the same determination to not become the Rat Queen. She was breathing in through her mouth and wiggling her tongue around until her mouth slid off the pipe. 

"You'll need to generate saliva," she informed them.  
"Quickly now, we don't have much time!"

While she was busy pulling Safiya off, Candy Pop was trying to get saliva to generate, but his mouth was as dry as a desert. The substance was closing in and he was nowhere close to escaping. Groaning, Penelope finally came over and pulled him off just as the substance reached his mouth. Five tubes were now spilling oozing pink sugar everywhere.

"You're welcome," Penelope coughed expectantly.

CP just rolled his eyes.

"Were you REALLY going to let me get turned into a stupid jellybaby if I didn't thank you?" 

"I mean, there's still time," Penelope threatened as she reached for his pipe.

_Shit._

"Thank you!" he blurted out quickly.

Smirking, she pulled her hand away.

"Good boy," she praised condescendingly, patting him on the head.

_I swear, if I wasn't in this fucking weak-ass human body, you'd be SO dead, Penelope!_

"Now what?" Nora asked as she tried to wipe off her stamp

"Now we need to undo the trances Ro, Mystic, and Alice were placed under," Penelope replied.

"That's literally impossible," Envy remarked.  
"Those three are surrounded by people at practically all times."

"There still has to be a way we can get to them," Safiya pondered as she rubbed out her stamp.  
"Maybe if we pretended we were some sort of entertainment act? Maybe a magic act. If we can get them to volunteer, we could undo the hypnosis and brainwashing right in front of their eyes."

The group began to wrack their brains when CP saw Penelope's brain working at top speed, the steam practically spewing from her ears until she snapped her fingers.  
"I think I know just how to do that."

* * *

"This. Is. A. Stupid. Fucking. Idea," Candy Pop hissed as Penelope put on the fortune telling outfit and dark black wavy wig from a disguise kit she had.  
"And kinda racist all things considering."

"Yes, I understand it could definitely be seen as racist, and I'm not a fan of it due to that factor," she sighed as she stuck the nose ring in.  
"But Safiya doesn't have the skill level of hypnotism I do and desperate times call for desperate measures. Besides they pulled this off at Caligari Carnival."

"Yeah, but that ended up getting burnt down and people were eaten by lions," Envy pointed out.

If looks could kill, Penelope would've murdered Envy with her glaring daggers.

"Listen, when I want your input, I'll tell you," Penelope clipped harshly as she finished putting on the makeup.  
"How do I look?"

"It's.....it's a look," Safiya remarked.

"I do apologize to anyone I may offend with this," Penelope whispered as they crept upstairs. 

Peeking into the parlor, they heard Matpat introducing his presents. Candy Pop's eye caught the grandfather clock; fifteen to midnight. They had to act fast.

"Uhnt dis is a harlequin jester doll I bought in Bafaria. Solt for vun huntert tventy at a shoppe."

"Oh, it's so lovely!" Alycia gasped, twinkles quite literally appearing in her eyes.

"Guys, look!" Nora whispered loudly.  
"Look on Matt's jacket."

She pointed to a golden metal hanging on his chest.

"No," Penelope gasped.  
"It can't be."

"What? What is it?" CP whispered back.

"That has to be one of the tokens!"

Immediately she pulled them back behind the wall.

"Safiya, how well can you play seductive?"

Safiya wasn't quite sure how to respond.

"Uh.....I......don't think.....I..." she stammered before bursting out into nervous laughter.  
"Where exactly are you going with this?"

"If you can distract Matpat while I'm doing my act, you can get the token, we can escape, and no one has to die."

"But why Safiya?" CP scoffed.

Immediately she turned on him.

"Oh, I apologize," Penelope snipped.  
"Did YOU want to volunteer to seduce him?"

"Pfft. You wouldn't be able to make that happen!"

Immediately, she reached into her disguise kit and pulled out a jar of glittery beige powder.

"What the hell is that?" CP wondered concerned.

"Disguising Dust," Penelope answered with a smirk on her face.  
"One sprinkle of this, and I can turn you into a lady that would even, what's the phrase you plebeians use?, 'snatch Nikita's wig.'"

"Uhhhh," CP stammered nervously.  
"I vote we go with Saf--"

All of a sudden, he felt a small storm of sand and someone whisper "Irresistibly seductive young woman with a dialect." All of a sudden, he felt himself begin to grow in various places.

"Oops," she giggled knowingly.  
"My hand slipped."

Once it was done, Penelope pulled out a mirror and held it out to Candy Pop. His jaw dropped. In the reflection was an incredibly sexy woman with dark hair. 

"Why did you transform me?" he asked before putting a dainty hand to his Cupid's bow lips as he heard himself. It was a deep, sexy voice, like a Jessica Rabbit style voice.  
"What is this voice?"

"Because Safiya's not such a.......n unpleasant person to me," she replied.  
"Now, you stay here and wait until I have the girls distracted. You head up to Matpat and seduce him. Once he's distracted, grab the token, and then we'll run out of here. And be quick about it."

He shuddered at this name, but sighing once he realized that this was for the greater good. They turned back to the group of entranced onlookers.

"Well then, I suppose those are the last of the presents," the king wrapped up.

"And now, I have a surprise for my youngest, Lottie."

"For me?" Lottie gasped excitedly.

"Yes, and from someone else very special."

As if on cue, the 'prince' stepped forward and began to present a small box. Just as he got down on one knee....

"So sorry," Penelope called out in her dialect as she strutted out into the crowd with a flourish.  
"So sorry I arrive so late please."

"Vat?" Matpat blinked.

"Is who please," she rebutted.  
"And I am great magician Madame Dissim Mulate, please!"

"We don't remember inviting you," the queen remarked, her red eyes blazing with fury.

"I come unannounced," she quipped before whirling back to the others.  
"Now for first trick, I need three princess please!"

She pretended to look around the crowd before the trio put their hands up. 

"Yes, you three please."

Squealing, they skipped up to the magician, except for Lottie who was held back by the prince.

"But...my gift," he gasped disappointed.

"Fear not, my sweet prince," Lottie sighed lovingly before giving him a peck on the forehead which made CP gag.  
"It won't be but a few moments."

They slowly pulled away from each other as Lottie skipped up to join her sisters.

"Yes, very good please," Penelope replied eagerly.  
"You three ready for trick?"

"Oh yes please!" they chorused in unison.

Immediately, the "magician" pulled out a watch.

"This......is maaaaaagic watch," she enchanted.  
"For first trick, I show you watch's power please."

She began to swing it back and forth.

"Just keep eyes on watch. Follow watch with eyes please." 


	8. To Seduce A YouTuber

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Candy Pop attempts to be seductive.
> 
> Keyword: attempts. 
> 
> (CW: Awkward sexualish encounter, innuendos)

While the girls were being distracted by "the magician," CP, still in disguise, was dreading the thought of having to go out there like this. An all-powerful demonic being that had the power of a God, first reduced to being stuck in a human's body, and now being stuck in the body of.....whoever the fuck this was.

How his fellow demons would mock him if they found out.

But finally, deciding it was now or never, "she" strode on out, her hips swaying with every step. She ended up catching the eyes of some of the men in the back, and a few of the ladies funnily enough.

 _I wonder what Sigmund Freud would have to say about this, s_ he chuckled. 

Whistling softly, she tried to get the attention of the eccentric German man. Finally after several tries, she caught Matpat's eye. She gestured for him to follow her, and he did so, more out of curiosity, but she wasn't one to complain. At this point, she'd clearly hit rock-bottom. She could only go up from here.

"Vat are you?" Matpat asked in confusion as she got him behind the crowd.

"Oh," she greeted him with a combo of vocal fry and breathiness utilizing as many assets as she knew how.  
"Why hello there, sugar. I was just in the neighborhood when I happened to catch a glance."

"How did you get into a place like dis?" he questioned.  
"I'm not so sure you belong here, du Schlampe."

"Ooh," she moaned quietly as she grabbed him by the collar, as she moved her hand up him slowly like a seductive spider.  
"I just  **LOOOOOOVVE** it when you talk like that. It's so.......appealing."

"Vat do you know apout appealing tings, du dreckige Sau?" he spat.

"Oh, don't hurt my feelings, daddy," she pouted, batting her eyes.  
"I just think the German language and the German accent are  **SOOOOO** sexy, especially coming from an actual German man."

Matpat shook his head in disgust.

"I don't haf time for dis," he scoffed.

He began to walk off, when she desperately grabbed his collar and pulled him back. She quick-glanced at the "act." Penelope hadn't put them to sleep yet. 

"Oh, don't be so fuddy-duddy, daddy," she giggled as she pinned him against the wall.  
"Let's have some Christmas fun. I'm on the naughty list for sure. Can you make me a good girl?"

"Vat are you doing?" he scolded quietly.  
"Tink apout die Kinder. Der innocent minds!"

"But all kinder hafta grow up sooner or later, daddy."

"Nein. Nicht in dis vorlt."

"We'll see about that," she chuckled.

_Don't let any of my fellow demons find out about this._

Eying the medallion, she pulled Matpat into a long, sensual kiss as she reached for the token. Unclipping it, she stealthily snuck it into her pocket before quickly letting go, leaving Matpat in a stun. 

"Auf Wiedersehen, you son of a bitch," she sniffed as she strutted off for the front door to wait for the others.

* * *

Meanwhile, Penelope was still in the midst of keeping the girls busy. Just as she thought, they immediately fell for it. They kept focused on it so intensely that it seemed to be their entire world.

"Now you three, sleep."

She snapped her fingers and all three dropped to the ground. Safiya and Envy collected Ro and Alice while Penelope picked up Mystic as she saw the transformed Candy Pop, waving the token in his hand.

"That is all time Madame Mulate has please," she rushed.  
"Goodbye and good night."

The group began to rush to the door, when they found it was stuck. While the others tried to open it, Penelope whispered into Mystic's ears.

"Everything I say is the absolute truth when you're in this state. When I count to five and snap my fingers, you will wake back up as you were before that angel bath."

She whispered similar commands to the other two, but before she could count, the clock struck twelve and the room began to grow dark.

"It's too late, Candy Pop," a familiar voice chuckled.  
"Time for you to pay up."

Whirling around, they saw a dark cloud form around the young prince as the party guests fell unconscious. In almost no time at all, where once stood a sweet-looking prince turned into their worst enemy.

The Cursed God.

 


	9. Betrayal and Reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The secret's out and they find another piece of the puzzle that needs to be solved.

As the clock struck midnight, CP's heart jumped at each chime as the Cursed God stepped towards them, slowly clapping his hands.

"Well, bravo," he chuckled.  
"Not only did you and your friends escape my trap, but you actually managed to steal away my sweet little rose right before my very eyes. Or at least, you almost did."

He snapped his fingers and Candy Pop instantly felt his body return to its normal state as he fell to the ground with a thud.

"What the?" he gasped, relieved to find that he was no longer British. Neither was anyone else.

"Now I believe you have nearly stolen two of my treasures."

Another snap of his fingers and the token launched out of Candy Pop's hand and into his, much to CP's dismay and shock. Meanwhile Penelope leaned down and whispered to the girls.

"One, two, three, four, five, awake!"

With a snap of her fingers, the three transformed back into themselves, except for the clothing. Groaning, they sat up, confused.

"What the?" Mystic groaned.  
"Where am I?"

"And the second treasure," the Cursed God announced.

Out of nowhere, Mystic felt an aura of magic surround her as she was levitated off of the ground. She tried to resist it, but it was a powerful pull and she soon found herself in his arms. She wriggled against his tight grasp.

"Why do you struggle so, my little rose?" he whispered to her kindly as he stroked her hair, sending chills down her spine.  
"Is this not what you wanted?"

"I don't even know what the hell is going on!" she snapped as she struggled even more.  
"I just wanna get the fuck out."

Hearing this, the Cursed God turned on the group, angered.

"So," he growled.  
"You managed to corrupt her again, did you?"

"Not to worry, my lord," the queen sniffed as she approached him.  
"I'll take her from here. I'll make sure they won't damage her delicate little mind ever again."

"Hey!" Mystic spat infuriated.   
"I resent that, you bitch!"

"And as for me," the king added, the accent dropped.

All of a sudden, Safiya and Nora felt a pull on them and soon they found themselves by the king's side. He pondered a little before finally shrugging.

"Actually, I change my mind."

Nora felt another surge of magic as she was flung forward, hitting her chin on the ground.

"What was that for?" she asked angrily as she rubbed where she had hit the floor. 

"I find a woman in black more appealing," he snipped.  
"And Morticia fits the bill."

Nora wasn't sure whether she should be relieved or feel offended. As she was trying to puzzle her feelings out, Ro and Alice came to. 

"What the heck is going on?" Ro groaned cutely.

"Oh, I almost forgot a third," the Cursed God gasped.

Ro felt a magical presence surround her. Yelping in shock, she found herself beside the Cursed God and Mystic, the latter of whom promptly broke free and began weeping in Ro's arms. Meanwhile Safiya was struggling against the Carnival Master's firm grip.

"You're going to make an alluring queen and Carnival Mistress," he whispered into her ear.  
"Especially in a black wedding dress."

In spite of her predicament, Saf stayed as stoic as ever. 

"Hey, what's this about Candy Pop having to 'pay up'?" Envy wondered.

The color practically flushed from his face as he prayed to whoever was listening that no one would say anything. But the Cursed God began to chuckle.

"Oh, right. That."

All of a sudden, Candy Pop felt himself being pulled towards the Cursed God. Above him a spotlight snapped on. 

"See, while you were all busy focusing on curing my sweet little bride and her friends, I struck up a deal with ol' CP here to get him out of that shell of a body. And all he had to do in exchange was surrender himself to me completely."

Everyone was stunned.

"Well," Alice trembled.  
"He obviously said no.......right, Candy Pop?"

A lump formed in his throat. He couldn't say that he did, but he also didn't say anything. 

"Well," the Cursed God pondered, elongating the word.  
"I'll give his loyalty credit. He didn't say yes, but he didn't say no."

"So you were considering it," Nora growled. 

"It's not what it sounds like---!" he began.

"I knew it," Mystic grumbled, him whirling to face her, she was stone cold.  
"I knew you couldn't be trusted."

"Mystic, I didn't---!"

"Shut your damn mouth, traitor!" she spat, as tears came to her eyes.  
"You were planning on turncoating us, I knew it! You never cared about any of us. All you wanted was your old body back. Well, I'm not giving it back. You can rot in the one you're stuck in now, for all I care."

He felt himself growing weak.

"Guys, come on!" he stammered as people turned.  
"I didn't want to, but I----Envy! Penn! Nora! C'mon, guys!"

They all turned him away. 

"Alice, c'mon, bud! You understand, right?"

She too snubbed him.

As a last resort, he turned to Ro who was comforting Mystic. Her eyes didn't have anger in them, but they certainly showed disappointment. 

"Ro, please, I'm sorry," his voice cracked as tears came to his eyes.  
"I never meant to hurt anyone."

She mouthed a soft "I'm sorry" before turning back to comfort Mystic. That sealed the deal. If Ro wasn't coming to his aid, he was screwed. He dropped his head in defeat as tears fell down his face, the last vein of hope fading away.....

"I think I can get where you're coming from," a voice announced. 

Looking up in shock, he and Saf's eyes met. Hers showed a little anger and disappointment, but also understanding. But Saf, out of everyone in the group, it was Saf who was choosing to try to understand him?

"It was in the heat of the moment. You've been in that body for weeks now. Of course that'd tempt you."

"You-you're not mad at me?" he gasped hopefully as the others looked up in surprise. 

"No, I am pretty pissed off," she admitted.  
"But that doesn't mean you're gonna turn on us."

"Of course he's going to turn on you," the Cursed God scoffed.  
"He's a demon. What makes you think you can trust him?"

"He's certainly done more for us than you have," Safiya retorted before turning back to the others.  
"We can't turn on CP now, everyone. That's what these people want. They want us to be divided."

"Is my bride falling victim to delusions?" Nicholas asked as he tried to stroke her.

"Stroke me, and it'll be the last thing you ever do," she hissed. 

In shock, his grip on her loosened and she rushed over to the others.

"Think about what Candy Pop's done for us. Without him, we wouldn't have even had the token in the first place."

"He did also kill Arya and Celeste," Lilith reminded them.

"Cuz he'd gone insane. I know that's not an excuse, but are you really going to trust that douchebag of a Cursed God when he's been the one causing the most disarray, even more than Candy Pop?"

"There's no use trying, Morticia," the Cursed God chuckled.  
"No one's going to agree with you."

"That's where you're wrong!" a cute, but strong, voice pipes up.

Mystic gasped to see Ro standing up.

"Saf's right. Candy Pop may be chaotic, but he's sure as heck has done more for us than you have, you big meanie!"

She grabbed Mystic's hand and rushed away towards the others. 

"But he was gonna betray us!" Mystic objected.

"He never said that he was going to," Ro encouraged her.  
"I believe he can be good, and I believe he IS good. Until he proves us wrong, I'm willing to trust him."

The Cursed God huffed.

"Well then, two of you are delusional. So what? The rest of them---"

"Fine," Nora sighed.  
"I suppose he never actually said that he was gonna do it. Screw it. I'm back with you."

"Three delusional. Poor things," Lilith tsked.  
"Perhaps an angel bath would do them good."

"I mean," Penelope admitted.  
"You DID involuntarily seduce Matthew. I guess putting you through that hell is a fair trade for the thought. But I'm keeping a close eye on you for a while."

 _Fair enough,_ he thought, just relieved that they didn't think he'd betray them, and at this point, he wasn't about to. 

"You promise you won't turn on us?" Alice piped up.

"I swear to whatever good deity exists," he promised.  
"And on my metaphorical mother's grave."

She sighed heavily.

"Fine. I mean, you have my body anyways, so it's not as though I really have a choice in the matter."

"Goodness," Lilith gasped.  
"I didn't think so many people in this group would be under such delusions. Poor things."

"I don't want to believe that you'll turn on us," Envy sighed.  
"I mean, we've been friends for as long as I can remember. You may be a demon, but I don't believe you're THAT evil."

Candy Pop was relieved. The only person he had left to convince was Mystic.

"Myst," he sighed.  
"I'm sorry."

She looked at him in disbelief before huffing.

"I mean, I guess I'm outnumbered," she grumbled.  
"But I've got my eye on you. You've got to really prove yourself before I'm gonna be able to trust you again. I don't like to be deceived."

_That's fair._

"Anyway," Safiya announced.  
"I believe that that token is ours."

The Cursed God scoffed.

"Do you really think I'm going to just hand over something so valuable and powerful to you? This isn't the freebie. Someone's going to die! And besides, even with this token, you're not even halfway there."

"No, but we're close," Penelope sniffed.  
"So just set up the death match and we'll take our 3rd out of 7."

Slowly and quietly, the Cursed God chuckled before it evolved into a full-out cackle as the castle began to morph into a lounge. 

"Seven? Seven?!?" he laughed maniacally.  
"You really believe in the myth of only SEVEN tokens?"

"It's not a myth; it's fact," Candy Pop retorted. 

"Oh, how naive," he replied as the others awoke as their normal selves.  
"While you vote on the teams going into this challenge, I'll let you fester on this little factoid. There's an eighth token of Everlock. And it's already with you."

And with that, he, Lilith, and Nicholas disappeared, leaving behind a note.

 


	10. Tchaikovsky's Relay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another death challenge is presented. 
> 
> Also I have way too many characters.

I felt shocked at this revelation. Was the Cursed God just messing with us, or was there really an eighth token?

"Wait. We've had one this whole time? Where?" Candy Pop stammered.  
"And more importantly, WHAT is it?"

A thought struck me. 

"What if it's a who?"

"A who?" Ines gasped. 

I nodded.

"What if it's not someTHING that's the final token, but rather someONE?"

"As in, a person as a token," a new voice theorized.

I turned to see a young woman with silver twin drills and wearing a black lolita dress.

"Who are you?" I interrogated.

"You really don't recognize me? Rene?"

I blinked in disbelief. 

"How the hell did you get out---?"

"I don't know, but I brought along others."

They gestured and I saw a whole slew of what I presumed to be ETN writers. 

"There are WAY too many characters in this," Stella groaned.   
"DON'T ASK, DOOPER."

He shrunk back. 

"Who are they?"

Rene sighed as they gestured to each writer, going down the line. 

"Jaiden, Roslyn, Delta, Darby, Lacey, Bailey, Sasha, Sunny, Wynter, Hecuba, Lenox, and Ambrosi."

"Great," I huffed.  
"Thirteen more of us who might get killed."

"Look, we don't even know what we're doing here," Darby piped up.  
"Most of us have only written like one or two stories involving this fandom. How the hell we got dragged into these shenanigans is beyond me."

"Who even says shenanigans?" Ambrosi scoffed.  
"That's so old-fashioned."

"Well, I don't know about any of you," Jaiden coughed.  
"But I don't plan on dying any time soon."

"Plans can change," Lacey shrugged.

"That sounded vaguely threatening," Wynter shivered.

"Anyway," Rene continued.  
"Don't you think it's quite possible that the token is a who and not a what?"

As the rest of them questioned this possibility, Eva spotted the note and picked it up reading it. 

_To receive your third token, you must undertake a **Nutcracker** relay. Two groups of twenty must be selected. First the leaders will be drawn, and then those leaders will each pick nineteen other cards and organize them randomly into various relay events. Once all nineteen have been selected and assigned, you will flip them over and reveal who is doing which event._

"Twenty? Each?" Nora stammered in disbelief.  
"That's probably the most amount of people who've ever had to compete."

"I'm guessing it'll be like the Big Top Challenge from season 3," Ines shrugged.  
"Just with more people."

"Yeah," Roslyn gulped.  
"But at what cost?"

We all stared at one another before I shook my head.

"Let's not consider it. If we think about that, it's only gonna slow us down. We need that token, so let's get voting."

"That's the spirit," Sasha smiled bitterly.  
"Sending us all to our deaths with determination."

_Oh great. Is this gonna be just like with Ines?_

"Hey," Taylor whispered to me.  
"You think maybe Sasha's the traitor?"

I shook my head.

"They weren't here when Jael said there was a traitor amongst us. I think can count those fourteen out."

She shrugged.

"If you say so."

I rolled my eyes.

"Calliope, you have the cards?"

She nodded.

"I decided to make this easier on everyone," she announced.  
"I've placed one of each card into the deck. I shall now shuffle and draw two and then those two must each draw nineteen."

With this sudden news, we all held our breaths in anticipation. My heart was shaking. Even if there were more of us, there was still a chance, that I was going to be drawn, either as the leader or as a teammate. I glanced over at Candy Pop, clearly trying to keep his cool, but I could see the fear in his eyes. Fear of what I wasn't sure. Maybe fear of the temptation that the Cursed God tried on him. Maybe the fear of death. Who the hell knew? I surely didn't.

Baited breath hung in the air as Calliope drew the first card before flipping it around like a magician.

"Mystic."

My heart sank as I heard my name. And at the same time, I was relieved. Maybe I'd die and then this whole clusterfuck would be over. I just had to make sure the other team was safe, right?

Calliope pulled out the second card and whirled it around.

"Stella."

I heard an "eep!" and whirled around. Stella was shaking all over. Now I knew who I had to protect.

"Um, Mystic, dear," Penelope piped up.  
"Could I speak to you in private---?"

"Not on your goddamn life," I growled, knowing very well what she had planned.

"Now you two must each draw nineteen," Calliope instructed before indicating to an area marked with tape.  
"And place them face-down for each event. Then you must flip them over. After both sets are flipped over, you will each have a minute to make any necessary adjustments to your team."

With a deep breath, I cautiously walked over and closed my eyes. I took one card at a time, and eventually I had nineteen. While Stella went to draw hers, I headed to the left to see that each part of the relay was labeled with the amount of people required:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_Tree decorating-4 people_

_Rat King Battle-4 people_

_Sweets Eating:-1 person_

_Figure Skate Dance-2 people_

_Flower Dance: 4 people_

_Sled race/scavenger hunt-4 people_

_Present the Nutcracker to the Cursed God-Team Leader_

 

Calliope slid my card over to me, and I placed it in the final slot. Now it was only a matter of intuition and saying "fuck it!" I randomly placed each card in a spot before waiting for Stella.

 

"Now you may flip them over and make any necessary adjustments. You have sixty seconds once all cards are flipped over."

 

Quickly I turned my cards around, and this was what I found:

 

 

Tree decorating-4 people

1\. Harlow

2\. Andrea R

3\. Safiya Nygaard

4\. Colleen Ballinger

 

Rat King Battle-4 people

1\. Oli White

2\. Rosanna Pansino

3\. Liza Koshy

4\. Envy

 

Sweets Eating:-1 person

1\. Lauren Riihimaki

 

Figure skate dance-2 people

1\. Matthew Patrick

2. Gabbie Hanna

 

Flower Dance: 4 people

1\. Penelope

2\. Candy Pop

3\. Nora

4\. Alice

 

Sled race/scavenger hunt-4 people

1\. Andrea B.

2\. Shiloh

3\. Montana

4\. Ines

 

Present the Nutcracker to the Cursed God-Team Leader

1\. Mystic

 

_Okay, this is an interesting assortment,_ I thought.

I heard the flick of a card and I saw that Stella had her final card turned over. Calliope flipped a sand timer and I set to work on analyzing. My hands moved like lightning, almost as if I wasn't thinking. I didn't even pay attention to time until I heard Calliope announce

"Time's up."

I glanced down at my choices. Not bad, but I just hoped Stella'd have better.

"Now when they call your name, you just need to step forward. Mystic, who did you pick for the relay?"

I took a deep breath. Hopefully none of them had to suffer under my leadership.

"So for the tree decorating, I picked Lauren Riihimaki, Andrea R., Andrea B. and Gabbie Hanna."

The four women stepped forward.

"This is a huge mistake," Gabbie giggled nervously.

"For the Rat King Battle," I continued.

"I decided on Oli White, Candy Pop, Penelope, and Envy."

 

 

Candy Pop looked flabbergasted. He shot me a stare that said "You're making a huge fucking mistake!"

"For the Sweets Eating, I'm so sorry Liza, but you were the only one who'd fit."

I could see Liza gag from the mere memory of the Baking Room Challenge and I felt terrible.

"For the Figure Skate Dance, I went with Shiloh and Harlow."

"Um," Harlow laughed nervously as they stepped forward.  
"Are you sure I'm the best fit? I'm clumsy as hell."

I tried to ignore it.

"For the Flower Dance, I chose Montana, Colleen Ballinger, Nora, and Ines."

I heard Ines give an anxious gasp.

"Mystic, you're making a huge mistake," she squealed quietly.

"And for the sled race/scavenger hunt, I went with Safiya Nygaard, Rosanna Pansino, Matthew Patrick, and Alice."

I could feel Alice's anxiety climbing as she stepped forward.

"And that's it," I finished as I felt a chill run through me.

Shrinking back, I bowed my head. Hopefully they weren't going to hate me for making another suicidal move. On the bright side, there was no way Penelope could hypnotize ALL nineteen, right? Right?

_I really hope I'm right._

"Stella?" Calliope continued.

She listed off her choices. For Tree Decorating, she had Tana Mongeau, Manny MUA, Justine Ezarik, and Nikita Dragun.

_Two beauty gurus against a DIY Queen. Interesting._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the Rat King Battle, she picked Jesse Wellens, Destorm Power, Timothy DeLaGhetto, and Shane Dawson.

_At least three ruthless/brave powerhouses. That's_ _guaranteed to get them to win._

For Sweets Eating, she went the Season 2 route like I did. I could see Tyler turning a light-green as he heard his name, and I couldn't help but both snicker and feel bad for him all at the same time.

For the Figure Skate Dance, it was Roi Fabito and Teala Dunn.

_Of course it is,_ I thought. 

The Flower Dance squad was comprised of Hyacinthe, Sierra Furtado, Lele Pons, and Sunny.

And the Sled race/Scavenger Hunt? JC Caylen, Eva Gutowski, Kasey, and Matthew Haag.

That settled it. They were gonna win and I was gonna die. Stella had quite a few powerhouses. Don't get me wrong. It wasn't as though I wanted to die, but if it would end all of this, then I was more than willing to take one for the team. 

"Alison, if you would do the honors," Calliope nodded.

A shocked exclamation of "Oh, she's still here?" came from one of the others as Alison conjured a ball of magic. Firing it against the wall, a portal appeared showcasing the inside of a theatre, and Calliope gestured towards it. 

"The rest of you can stay," Alison assured the others as the forty-one of us stepped through the portal.

* * *

It was pretty magnificent, nearly as tall as Carnegie Hall if not taller, and just as grand. There were twelve bells in front of us each with a note attached to the ropes. But on the floor of the stage, there was also another note. Picking it up, Sunny read it aloud.

_Your teams are now assembled and assigned. For this challenge, you must complete a sequence of tasks associated with **The Nutcracker** before the other team. On the signal, ring your respective bells and you will be transported to your location. When the task prior to yours has been completed, a bell will sound and a light will flash on, signaling that you are allowed to begin your task. Once you are finished, you must press the button at the end of the room to send the signal to those at the next task. The first to complete their tasks, put together their nutcracker doll, and present it to the Cursed God will be allowed to continue on._

Then her eyes widened and she pursed her lips.

"Sunny?" Hyacinthe wondered.  
"Sunny, what is it?"

She didn't answer, merely handing the note over to Hyacinthe, who blanched. 

"What? What's all this about? Give me the note," Nikita scoffed, snatching it out of Hyacinthe's hands. She scanned it over and as she read it aloud, I could hear a slight tremor in her voice.

_However, once that team's nutcracker is presented to the Cursed God, everyone on the losing team will be killed off within their respective rooms, including the team leader._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You wanna place bets on who's gonna survive?


	11. Nutcracker Roulette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BTW, it's been about six months since the Possession began. 
> 
> Happy Half-Chaos Day, I guess?

We all stood there, dumbfounded and horrified. The note claimed that EVERY SINGLE MEMBER on the losing twenty-person team was going to be killed. It seemed impossible. Surely there was a mistake. 

"Give me the note," I stammered in stunned disbelief.

Snatching it from Nikita, I had to read it over multiple times just to be sure I was seeing it correctly. Part of me figured I shouldn't have been frightened about this, especially by now, but twenty people murdered right before our eyes?

"This.....this is impossible," I denied shaking my head.  
"Surely even he couldn't possibly be that brutal!"

"It's what we've got," Manny sighed. 

"Why are you just giving up?" I shouted.

"I'm not."

"Mystic, darling---" Penelope began reaching for my shoulder.

"Don't say a word! I'm out."

"You can't leave!" Alison exclaimed.

I whirled on her, wishing that I could shoot fire out of my eyes.

"Watch me."

I tried to use my magic to conjure up a portal, but suddenly a surge of pain shot through my head, sending me to the ground. 

_**Don't try anything, my dearest.** _

Oh great. He was EXACTLY what I needed.

_Get out of my head! Leave my brain alone._

"Who is she talking to?" Tyler wondered.

Shit. Was I....was I saying it aloud?

"Mystic, what's going on?" Tana questioned. 

_**If you wish to see any of your friends leave this challenge, you must compete, my darling. It's only fair.** _

"Hey, Stella," Teala asked.  
"Just out of curiosity, why did you pair Roi and me up for the skating challenge?"

"Oh," Stella gasped.  
"Uh....I just.....think....you two have.....uh.....good....chemistry..."

"There's no need to be shy about it," Shiloh scoffed.  
"Everyone knows about---"

"Let's just get this over with!" Stella interrupted abruptly.

_Okay, fine. But you promise the winning team lives?_

**_Would it make you feel any better if I let you save the losing team's souls in a jar?_ **

_Not really._

Reluctantly I stood up and went over to my bell. The others got into their groups.

"Not to boast or anything," Nikita scoffed.  
"But Stella, you kinda got a lucky draw on the Christmas tree. With Manny and I, you're safe, honey."

"As did she," Destorm agreed.  
"For this rat king battle."

"Yeah," Jesse added spinning his gun.  
"We've already got a weapon."

"I wouldn't speak so soon," Penelope sniffed.  
"Candy Pop, Envy, and I are pretty decent fighters ourselves."

"But then there's me," Oli sighed.

"Yes, darling, but we can't think negatively at a time like this," Penelope assured him.

"Can we just get this over with?" Gabbie exclaimed.  
"If I'm gonna die, I'd like it to be a quick death."

As Saf, Matt, Ro, and Alice stepped up to the bell beside me, the MRS trio leaned in.

"It's okay, Mystic," Saf encouraged me.  
"Matt and I are pretty smart. We can come up with some good strategy."

"Everyone ready?" Alison asked.

A chorus of mixed responses rang throughout the group. As Alison raised a flag, my hearts began to pulsate and jump in my stomach.

"Go!" she yelled with a wave of the flag. 

As we began, the  _Russian Dance_ from  _The Nutcracker_ began to play. Overlapping it was a chorus of twelve bells simultaneously ringing. I gave my bell a reluctantly-hard tug and I was soon surrounded by a cloud of white sparkles. Soon I found myself overlooking a frozen lake standing on a fluffy snow-white carpet. To my right, Stella was trying to orient herself as she'd just teleported over to her spot. 

"Welcome, my dear and friend," a purring voice greeted us.

Whirling around, Stella and I saw the Cursed God, Lilith, and Nicholas. The Cursed God was sitting on what looked like a knock-off of the iron throne, Lilith on his right and Nicholas on his left. And behind Stella and me were two giant nutcrackers hovering over us. It didn't take a genius to figure out how one of us was gonna die. 

"Stella, I'm really sorry," I whimpered.

"It's not your fault," she assured me.  
"Even if I do die, at least I'll get to watch my OTP in action."

Snapping his fingers, a monitor appeared in front of each of us and a remote in our hands.

"What's this?" I asked.

"It'll allow you to watch the action," Lilith answered.  
"We certainly wouldn't want you two to simply sit around doing nothing."

"Now," the Cursed God announced.  
"You both are allowed to make three requests to help out the others--"

"Have Teala and Roi kiss during the Figure Skating dance. And make it a long kiss!"

There was no hesitation from Stella's response. The Cursed God chuckled endearingly.

"She's almost as adorable as you, my bride," he cooed.  
"It'd be a pity that she might die. Very well."

Another snap of his fingers and a small green checkmark appeared on her monitor.

"What else?"

"Nothing else yet. As long as I get to see them kiss, I'm fine for now."

"And you, my lovely?"

I thought this over. I didn't want to purposefully sabotage my team, but I didn't want Stella and the others to die. This was a major moral dilemma for me. Trying to tune him out, I clicked the first button. Gabbie and the others were struggling with their tree as they had their hands tied behind their backs.

Not even a surprise to me.

 _"---swear to God, I want to kill whoever made this challenge,"_ Gabbie grumbled as she tried to wind Christmas lights around the tree with her mouth.  
 _"What does having our hands tied up have to do with **The Nutcracker**_ _?"_

That's when it occurred to me. I turned back to the Cursed God.

"Do they have to have their hands behind their back?"

"For the majority of the time," he replied.

_Okay, I can work with that._

"My first request is to let them decorate the tree for two and a half minutes with their hands free."

A snap of his fingers and a small red checkmark appeared on my monitor. All of a sudden, the ropes dropped from their wrists and I heard Lilith's voice over an intercom.

_"Team 1 Tree Decorators, you have two and a half minutes in which you are able to use your hands to decorate the tree."_

They all looked stunned.

 _"Oh hell yeah!"_ Andrea R. exclaimed excitedly as she immediately set to work helping Gabbie with the lights while Andrea B and Lauren worked on the tinsel. 

My heart palpitated as their time wound down. They were on each other's shoulders, placing the angel on top when the ropes snapped back on their wrists. As they all fell to the ground, I could see the angel barely hanging on and was, in fact, about to fall off.

 _"Quick, press the fucking button!"_ Gabbie screamed.

Andrea R. practically lunged towards the button and slammed it down just as the angel fell and shattered against the tile floor. My monitor automatically switched to the next challenge. A light rang on alongside the sound of a deep bell. Immediately an army of rats appeared and the second section grabbed a set of weapons. 

 _"On the double, everyone!"_ Penelope directed as she aimed her rifle.  
 _"Remember our strategy; shoot everything that moves."_

 _"But wouldn't that include us?"_ Candy Pop asked snarkily.

She gave him a small slap before immediately turning back and firing at an oncoming rat. Thankfully they were robotic. Envy was utilizing his plant powers, it seemed.

 _"Hey rat pack!"_ he shouted.  
 _"Here's a ballet for ya!"_

He whipped his vines out and pushed them against the wall. I could see sparks coming from them as they broke upon impact.

_"I thought I wasn't going to have to do this again."_

My heart dropped as I heard Tyler's voice coming from Stella's monitor. How was her team so far ahead already? If they won, I'd be killed. But wait, wasn't that what I wanted in the first place? Wouldn't my death end all of this? But was it worth it if my team was also going to be killed?

But I didn't have time to answer this as I heard static before I saw my screen switch to a baking room not at all unlike the one from season 2. 

 _"Oh God,"_ Liza sighed nauseated at the sight.  
 _"Okay, don't think about it."_

As she began to gorge out on food, I decided on my second request.

"Give Liza some fast-acting antacid," I ordered as she began to look extremely sick.  
"It could help with her stomach."

With a snap of his fingers, a servant came into the baking room and handed Liza a bottle.

 _"What's this?"_ she groaned as she took the bottle.

 _"Mystic has requested that you take some antacid to help your stomach,"_ they replied.

Relieved Liza tore the bottle open and chewed two of them.

 _"Mystic, you're the best!"_ she gasped in relief.  
 _"Wait. Can she hear me right now?"_

_"Yes, and see you."_

The servant pointed to a camera and Liza waved at it.

_"Mystic, you're the best! I know already said that, I just wanted to make sure you knew it."_

Thanks to the antacid, Liza got through her challenge and pressed the button before passing out on the floor. Next thing my monitor displayed was Shiloh and Harlow on a frozen lake in ice skates and figure skating outfits.

 _"What do we do?"_ Shiloh worried.

Harlow shrugged.

_"Skate, I guess. I mean, we both looked at the diagram for the dance."_

As they went through their challenge, I heard a squeal from Stella and I snuck a peek at her monitor. It'd just switched to the skating challenge and the servant was giving a note to Roi and Teala.

 _"Wait,"_ Teala exclaimed as her ice skating gown glittered against the moonlight in their room.  
 _"She wants us to **kiss**_ _during the challenge?"_

The servant simply nodded and left without another word. The two looked at each other and shrugged.

 _"I mean, why not?"_ Roi smiled.

This prompted another squeal from Stella as well as tears. Surprisingly, the two were incredibly graceful as they glided around the pond.

"I had no idea they were so skilled."

"They're not," Nicholas scoffed.  
"Both teams have skates to prevent them from falling during the challenge."

_Oh. That might explain it. Nonetheless...._

I stole a quick glance at my screen and my heart flipped as I saw that it'd switched to the flower group. 

"Mystic!" Stella screamed.  
"Quick, look, look, look, look!!!!!!"

I turned back to her screen in time to see the last half of a long and passionate kiss from Teala and Roi. They grasped hands skating over to their button and both of them pressing down on it. 

"I'm dead," Stella cried happily before realizing what she just said.  
"Wait, no, that's probably a bad way to phrase it."

The rest of the time, both teams were neck-and-neck and I was nervous as hell. As Stella's team got to the last challenge, she used her second request to give her team goggles to help them see. Equipment or not, my team was leading, but how? I was beginning to feel indescribable terror. Wasn't there something I could do? 

Both of our sleds arrived at the same time, with the Nutcrackers in pieces. 

"Before presenting it to me," the Cursed God announced.  
"You two must piece your nutcrackers back together."

Stella began to work at top speed. I tried to go as slow as possible, in the hopes of giving Stella an advantage. But all of a sudden, I felt myself falling into unconsciousness. After what felt like a brief second, I awoke to find myself in front of the Cursed God with him holding my whole Nutcracker.

"You're sadistic," I hissed venomously.

"I wasn't about to let you die; you know that, my angel," he smirked as he reached out to stroke my hair.

I pulled back as Stella screamed. Her giant Nutcracker began to fall slowly down over her. I had to think of something, and fast. But what could I do?

Then I remembered.

_"You both are allowed to make three requests to help out the others"_

"Stop the executions!" I called out.  
"I want to use my third request."

The nutcracker that was about to crush Stella stopped as the Cursed God eyed me curiously.

"Oh, and what's that?"

"Be sure to say it loud and clear," Lilith condescended.  
"The others can hear you now."

I took a deep breath.

"My third request is to save both teams from death."

 


	12. The Judgement of the Reluctant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (CW: Death, hypodermic needles, rats, cannibalism, butchering, religion, blades, drowning, ice)

There was a moment of tense silence as the Cursed God thought this over. I could tell that the others were awaiting his reply with baited breath, as was I. Would he honor this request? Maybe if I played up the sadness, though that wouldn't require much work.

"Please," I begged, tears coming to my eyes.  
"Twenty people dying at once is too much for me."

I stared into his eyes, hoping he'd show some sort of mercy. Meanwhile, Stella caught on.

"I want to use my last request to second her request," she announced. 

"But that's absurd," Lilith scoffed in disbelief.  
"This is a DEATH challenge. Therefore someone must die."

"You didn't specify what the requests could and couldn't be used for," Stella pointed out.

"That's true," the Cursed God mused.

Another long and tense silence left us all with baited breath. 

"I shall honor half of your requests. My love, you will first be allowed to save half of her team and, once you have made your picks, she will be allowed to save a quarter of her team."

Wait. Did that mean---?

"Make your choices," he chuckled maliciously.  
"Who will live and who will die?"

I felt sick to my stomach upon hearing this. I had to choose half of the people on her team to save? To play God, play with life and death? I mean, I was glad I didn't have to bear the burden alone, what with Stella being able to decide five more to live, but that still meant five people weren't going to make it out alive. 

But in the end, if this was the only choice, I would prefer only five dying compared to twenty.

"Well, obviously, I choose to save Stella first," I sighed.

Upon hearing this, Stella let out a cry of relief, bursting into tears. 

"Thank you, Mystic! Thank you," she exclaimed. 

I tried to focus on my own musings. Nine more choices, nine more people, nine more lives I could save. 

"Um," I hesitated.  
"I'll also save........Justine."

From out of nowhere, Justine emerged in a cloud of smoke, attempting to reorient herself. Two down, eight to go. 

"JC."

He appeared next. 

"Sunny."

She was next.

"Oh thank God!" she sighed in absolute relief.

I, on the other hand, was feeling absolutely nauseated. I could only save six more. I decided to forgo Roi and Teala for Stella's choices. Knowing her, they'd be the first two saved. 

"Sierra. Kasey. Eva. Hyacinthe. Tyler."

I was down to my final choice, but who the hell would it be? I decided to wrack my mind. How would I be able to decide who to save? Then I thought back to her faintly banging on my door at the hotel when I was at my weakest point, and my mind was made up.

"And Nikita."

She appeared in all her neon pink glory. All I could do was hope Stella would save Manny. 

_ I'm so sorry, _  I prayed to anyone listening.   
_Please forgive me._

"And your five?" The Cursed God asked Stella.

"Roi and Teala," she immediately replied. 

They appeared in a cloud of smoke. Three more. Who was going to be spared death?

"Manny."

I sighed in relief as Manny appeared. Nikita, who was surprisingly in tears, rushed over to his side and pulled him into a hug. 

"I thought I was a goner," he gasped shocked.

I heard Stella gulp. She browsed through each monitor. Screen One showed a trembling Tana.

_ "Guys?" _  she quivered, her voice cracking every so often.   
_"Where are you? Where'd you go?"_

The second screen showed a confused group of the four guys.

_ "Shoudn't we be dead by now?" _  Shane wondered.

 _"You didn't hear the message?"_ Jesse chuckled.  
_"Fifteen of our team's getting saved."_

_"Fifteen?"_ Timothy exclaimed in disbelief.

Screen 3 had no one. Neither did screen 4. Screen 5 had Lele searching around her room, surrounded by a bunch of giant flowers. 

_ "Hey!" _  she shouted.  
_"Where the hell are you, guys?"_

And screen 6 showed Matt Haag standing on the ice, just as confused. 

_ "What's going on? Where'd you go? Why didn't I go too?" _

"Destorm."

_ What? Why? _

I saw her lips quivering. This final name was going to be the last one either of us would be able to save. 

"And Tana."

The final life appeared in front of us, as she broke down in tears. All of a sudden, Timothy was teleported to the Christmas tree room. Shane was teleported to the Baking Room. Jesse was left by himself. We heard sirens going off in each room. My screen changed to reflect the other teams' fates.

Screen 1 was first. Timothy was backed up against the wall. He had his hand tied behind his back.

_ "What's going on?" _  he asked, sounding a little scared.  
_"What's that sound?"_

And that's when I saw it. The tree began to shift, each of its branches becoming long hypodermics filled with green liquid. It began to spin towards Timothy whose eyes grew wide.

_"Wait, what? No!"_ he exclaimed in fear.  
_"Gimme a second chance! Didn't you see me? I kicked ass in that battle! C'mon!"_

The tree began to spin faster and faster, moving closer and closer to Timothy. I couldn't look as I heard him shriek out in pain. Until it stopped suddenly. I didn't dare look up at the carnage on my screen, but it soon switched. 

_"What the hell is this?"_ Jesse wondered.  


All of a sudden, about fifty, giant, robotic rats emerged with glowing red eyes and razor-sharp teeth. 

_ "Are you kidding me?" _  he sighed in frightened defeat.  
_"Is this REALLY how I'm gonna die?"_

They lunged on him as he screamed in agony. I didn't want to watch any of this. Even just the sound made me feel like I was about to hurl. I heard the static signaling a switch.

_ "Guys?"   _ This was Shane's voice.   
_"Are you serious? Sending me to the baking room to die? At least let me have something to eat first. Oh shit!"_

He went in for the treats as fast as he could, clearly having seen something that would cause him to hurry. All of a sudden, a carving knife emerged from the left side of the screen, striking Shane deep in the skull and causing him to give a shout of pain. He dropped against the table, his face falling into a half-eaten cake, completely still. From out of nowhere, a woman emerged carrying a cleaver. Grunting, she took the carving knife from his skull, pushed Shane's body off of the table, and dragged him to a doorway. Yanking it open, she tossed him inside before slamming it shut. You didn't need to have seen  _Sweeney Todd_ to know exactly what was going to happen to him.

It switched to Screen 5. The giant flowers had made a large circle around Lele.

_ "Is this some sort of prank?" _  she shouted in anger.  
_"It's not funny!"_

In a split second, the petals on the flower flattened out. They began to spin and the sound of a thousand buzzsaws could be heard.

_"Guys! Get me out of here. Please!"_

I could hear her voice break as fear overtook her. The flowers began to advance on her and she began to scream, before falling into a prayer position.

_"Jesucristo, Santa María, Espíritu Santo, por favor, sálvame. ¡Ten piedad de mi! ¡No quiero morir!"_

I whirled away as the blades began to cut into her. She shrieked bloody murder before dropping to the ground, causing me to wince and cover my ears. I began to pray, in hopes that her soul would be in a better place.

_"Hey! What's going on?"_

Matthew Haag. 

_"Why didn't you save me? Why didn't I get saved? Why am I the one to die?"_

He began to sound fearful and angry, his voice rising in volume and even cracking a little. Guilt was coursing through my body and mind as I heard the cracking of ice. As it broke away, I heard a loud splash. Sneaking a peek, I saw Matt struggling to maintain afloat in the icy waters as the team's sled sunk below. He was desperate to cling onto life, even for just a split second longer. But after some time, he just stopped treading water. As he slowly sank, he looked up at the sky.

 _"I hope you're happy,"_ he sighed despondently before sinking into the depths below. 

Once he was gone, the ice reformed itself over him and the sled. And that was that. The fifth and final death of the challenge, and yet it was no better than having all twenty die. At least not to me. I dropped to the floor, weak with guilt and anxiety. The world around me began to fade into a blur. Voices hovered above me panicked and concerned, but I couldn't make out any in particular. They all just blended together as I sunk into darkness and complete silence.


	13. Back on the Run

I felt another set of cold cloths against my face as I awoke. Groaning I tried to sit up, but a hand gently pushed me back down.

"Whoa, not yet," Safiya told me.  
"You were convulsing a little."

Can you develop a seizure out of guilt? The first time I ever had one was years prior and likely due to medication, so I had no clue.

"What's it with you and passing out?" Nikita wondered.  
"Is it some sort of damsel-in-distress thing or ingenue trait or what?"

"I'm not......either.....of those....things," I huffed exhaustedly.

"Are you sure about that? Cuz you keep needing us to come to your rescue," Candy Pop snarked.

"I never asked for you to rescue me, jackass!" I snipped.  
"You're all overly sheltering of me."

"I mean, in case you don't remember," Colleen pointed out.  
"The fate of the universe kinda rests on whether or not you're with the Cursed God, so it's not without reason."

Seems like a bit of a ridiculous reason to go so above and beyond, but go off I guess.

"Hey, by the way, where the hell are we?" I asked out of the blue.

I smelled cinnamon and chocolate.

"Back at the mansion/castle thing," Envy replied.  
"We took you back after you passed out."

"And the Cursed God?"

"He tried to take you while you were out cold. It was really creepy. He was like Smeagol with the ring about you."

Yeah, I definitely didn't need to know THAT. 

All of a sudden, I spied some wisps in jars on a sash on Penelope.

"What are those?"

"The souls of the five who died, along with Arya, Celeste, Cyrille, Kyrie, and Ciel," she explained.

"I told him it wouldn't make me feel better if he bottled the souls up for me."

"He insisted on it anyway."

 _Of course he would._ Rolling my eyes, I stood up and walked off when I felt someone grasp me.

"Where do you think you're going?" Candy Pop snapped.

"Away from this place."

"Not on our watch. This time we're making sure you stay with us. All it'll take is Penelope's skills. Someone come help me hold her down."

All of a sudden, Safiya, Penelope, Alice, and a few others began to try to grab ahold of me and pin me on the couch. Without thinking, I went to work. I started on Candy Pop, biting down hard his arm before whipping over to Safiya, then Penelope, Nikita, Manny, Justine, and Rosanna and Alice just dropped their grip. I took the opportunity and ran off. I could hear their footsteps as I dashed out of the castle/mansion. I felt myself gasping for breath. I was definitely not the most in shape. 

_Shit. I need to get out of here. If only I had---_

Then I saw it. A stand labelled  _Teastones for Sale._ And there were only two bags left. I snatched one up and pulled out a stone. Luckily they were light teastones.

"I wish the others would be stuck frozen until I get the hell outta here!"

"Oh you motherfu---!" Candy Pop began to shout before he froze in place. 

I let the dust fall into the new bag before pulling out another. 

"I wish I was the only one who could use the teastones in this bag."

More dust. I pulled out a third.

"I wish I could get the hell outta this town, outta the Cursed God's lair, and somewhere secluded!"

A golden glow surrounded me as I disappeared.

* * *

 

The others came out of their frozen stupor in time to see Mystic disappear in a warm, golden light. 

"That bitch!" Candy Pop spat as he grasped at his hair. 

"Took the words right outta my mouth," Nikita growled as she examined the bite mark.  
"She's gonna pay for this."

"Maybe if we just sent one of us out there," Matt suggested.

All of a sudden, they heard a quiet, but crazed, chuckle. Turning they saw Safiya on the ground in a fetal position, her eye twitching.

"Oh fuck," Candy Pop sighed.  
"Here we go again."

"Mystic......" Safiya breathed crazily as she rustled her hair.  
"My poor baby girl....she's in danger."

All of a sudden, she just shot up, filled with determination and went over to the stand. Snatching up the last bag, she pulled one out.

"I wish Mystic was back with us."

But it didn't glow or fade to dust. She tried again, and again.

"Why isn't it working?" she raged.

"I think Mystic may have cast a spell to prevent you from bringing her back," Penelope sighed.

Growling, she shook herself like a dog before making another wish. 

"I wish we were at her location."

No effect.

"Damn, does this girl have it all planned out?" Candy Pop exclaimed.

"I guess she lives up to her namesake," Stella shrugged.

"That's not what a Mystic does," Erica piped up.

"Fine!" Safiya snarled.  
"I wish that we were near her general location."

No effect again. 

"Okay, screw it! I wish we were out of this and out of the Cursed God's lair and a few miles from her location."

This time there was a golden glow and a warm light surrounded the large group.


	14. A Solo Journey for an Introvert, Act 2, Part 1

Once I landed in my secluded location, another forest treehouse, this one a bit fancier than the last, I remembered that there was a second bag of teastones. With this chestnut in mind, I decided to take some precautions. I pulled out a teastone.

"I wish they couldn't use the teastones to affect me, bring me to their location, teleport to my location, or teleport within five miles of my general location."

The light glowed and the dust settled in my hand. I let it fall into the bag before pulling out another. 

"I wish I was the only one who could undo that last wish."

Light and dust. And with that, I settled into my bed. I was tired out, not just physically, but also emotionally. I just saw five people be brutally murdered, one after another. How the hell was I supposed to recover from that?

Seeing one more blindspot in my plan to remain undetected, I pulled out another stone.

"I wish the Cursed God or anyone working with him wouldn't be able to find me either and that this treehouse's exterior and windows and inhabitants were invisible to outsiders."

With that I really settled in. Before taking a nap, I decided to take in a sensation that I probably wouldn't be getting after I decided to set out; quiet. Almost silence, in fact. It was almost a bit ridiculous how much I was enjoying the sound of completely untouched silence. This was the only kind of purity I was interested in. The only things I could hear were the sounds of birds chirping, the wind blowing and the leaves rustling in the trees. 

And I was enjoying every single second of it. And I thought to myself 'Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be alive. All I'd have to do is stay under the radar. And if I can keep others from disabling these wishes, that'll be pretty easy.' True, there was always the possibility of them simply stumbling across me, but I had time before I would have to worry about that. I felt so at ease that I simply let my mind wander. I closed my eyes and slept.

* * *

When I awoke, the sun was peacefully peeking out from the horizon. I rubbed my eyes, and put on my glasses when I felt my stomach rumble. 

_I should get some food._

I opened the door of my treehouse to step outside, but when I did, I heard the sound of crazed giggling and the call of my name. 

_Did Safiya go insane again?_

Rolling my eyes, strangely unfazed by the possibility that she had gone batshit crazy once more, I shut the door and decided to conjure up a small meal of crackers and peanut butter. It wasn't bad. I just would've liked to have had something more substantial. I had just finished up when I heard conversation down below.

"----possible for her to be here! There's nothing," I heard Andrea R. groan.

"Well, my tracking device says she's right here," Penelope argued back.  
"And it exhibits ninety-nine point nine percent accuracy."

"Then maybe this is the 0.1% chance that it's wrong," Andrea Brooks shrugged casually. 

"No," Safiya cackled insanely.  
"I'm certain that my precious is here. I can sense her. She is definitely here!"

"Can someone please unkookify this crazy bitch?" Nikita groaned.  
"She's starting to get on my nerves."

"Well of course she is," Manny groaned with equal annoyance.  
"She's getting on my nerves too. None of us had any sleep because Lil Miss Drama Queen wants to play hide and seek."

"Okay, but why?" Nikita wondered as Safiya dug at the ground, making crazed chipmunk noises.  
"Why does she keep running off?"

"I keep trying to get her to tell me, but there's no dice," Candy Pop answered frustrated.

I had to bite my lips to keep from bursting out into mischievous cackles. They were trying to find me, and I was literally right above their heads. At the same time, though, I felt bad. No sleep?

"Let's change that," I sighed as I pulled out a stone.  
"I wish they would all experience extreme drowsiness that would make them sleep for exactly eight hours, and that they'd be undetectable by evil while they sleep."

The dust fell into my bag as I began to hear them yawn and settle to the ground. Even though we weren't in that universe anymore,  _Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy_ began to play as they all fell under my spell. 

"Wait, what's going on?" Alice exclaimed as she settle on a patch of grass.  
"Why do I feel extra sleepy?"

"I do as well," Ro yawned cutely.  
"Maybe someone put a spell on us."

"I bet I know who," Penelope groaned as she shut her eyes.  
"I.....told you.....I was right."

"That.....little....bi.....zzzzzz," Candy Pop snored.

Satisfied with my little spell, I found myself still a bit tired. I decided to settle into a nap of my own. 

 

 


	15. A Solo Journey for an Introvert, Act 2, Part 2

When I started taking a nap, I was alone in my treehouse. 

When I woke up, about eight hours later, that wasn't the case.

"Oh, for fuck's sake," I huffed as Alice, Candy Pop, Envy, Ro, and Penelope stood over me, yeeting myself to the side of the bed when they tried to pin me down. Lucky for me, I kept the teastones stuffed inside of a pocket in my clothes.  
"How the hell did you even get up here?"

"We undid the invisibility spell," Alice answered honestly.

_Of course._

"How did you even know---?"

"My tracking device is hardly ever wrong," Penelope replied.  
"Now."

She pulled out a golden pocket watch.

"Got that fixed, did you?" I quipped as she opened it up.

"Listen to what I have to say," she soothed.

My instincts immediately went into fight mode, and I interrupted her.

"Oh hell no! You are  **NOT** hypnotizing me again!"

I pulled a sort-of reverse Harvey Bullock, yelling at the top of my lungs, but climbing out the window and up the treehouse like a spider; as I left, I heard Candy Pop grumble.

"Well, that's one way to do it."

I could feel the vibrations as they each climbed onto the treehouse. I thought I was safe in the trees, but as it turned out, I had to watch out for crazy bat people.

Saf looked like she'd been living in the woods for years. Her eyes were bloodshot.

"I've found you, my dear," she growled/cackled.

I was stuck between a crazy bat bitch and a hypnotist with a plant sidekick and demon. All of a sudden, I felt something wrap around my torso. Looking down I saw vines wrapping around. I reached for the teastones and pulled one out.

"I wish Saf wasn't insane anymore."

Gold and dust. As Saf blinked, confused, I felt myself being pulled back. I pulled out a second.

"I wish I was free from his grasp and far away from this place."

A golden light enveloped me. Once I'd landed, I made a wish to get Saf off the roof, and began to walk.

* * *

 

About a few hours into walking and I was already feeling hungry again, and my blood sugar was falling. I pulled out another stone.

"I wish I was somewhere with food."

In a poof, I was outside a giant building with smoke stacks puffing out steam. It looked rather colorful in comparison to the snowy and drab landscape outside. And the gate was opened slightly. I was suspicious at first, but then I saw something on the ground, something golden. Dashing inside I picked it up only to find that it wasn't a token, but a ticket. 

"A golden ticket," I gasped. 

All of a sudden, I heard a loud squeaking and a slam. I rushed around and pulled at the bars, but they were stuck.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" a man's voice exclaimed.

Whirling around, I came face to face with a tall man in a plum-colored velvet jacket at a chocolate-brown top hat, carrying a peppermint-styled cane. 

"These fences get stuck all the time. Unfortunately, I don't have enough oil to open it."

_He did that on purpose, didn't he? But I don't really have a choice. Guess I've gotta play naive._

"When will you have it?" I pondered aloud.

He shrugged.

"Not sure, but you really should come inside. It's getting rather cold and it'd be such a pity to waste a life to the cold. Are you hungry?"

"Pretty famished, actually," I answered.

"Then I've got just what you need."

He lead me into the giant building, the door slamming behind us. 


End file.
